Chris Bell attacks Adrian Garcia on jail record

Updated 4:20 pm, Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Mayoral candidate Chris Bell continued to attack former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia's record Wednesday, accusing his challenger of misrepresenting the agency's budget and misleading the public about cases involving inmates who died or were mistreated while in jail.

Bell's critique comes as multiple mayoral candidates have begun to take swipes at Garcia, one of the perceived frontrunners to replace term-limited Mayor Annise Parker.

"'No comment' seems to have become the new 'good morning' in the Garcia camp," Bell said at a press conference outside City Hall. "And when forced to speak, Mr. Garcia hasn't told the truth to Houston voters."

Bell's rhetoric shifted negative at a mayoral forum two weeks ago, when he took aim at Garcia for his handling of a 2013 case involving Terry Goodwin, a mentally ill inmate left for weeks in a filthy jail cell.

In response, Garcia called the case "unacceptable."

"It shouldn't have happened. It definitely should not have happened under my watch. But when I found out about it, I took full responsibility. I took action," Garcia said at the Aug. 31 forum. "I put policies and procedures in place to keep it from happening again."

Bell took issue with that reply on Wednesday, saying Garcia "knew full well that the policies he put in place in October 2014 had not kept it from happening again."

Bell cited last week's indictments of two Harris County jail workers for allegedly tampering with government records after an inmate died of acute pancreatitis last October.

The mayoral hopeful also accused Garcia of improperly claiming that the sheriff's office was at or under budget for four consecutive years during his tenure.

"His numbers are a complete fabrication," Bell said, alleging that the county's former top lawman was over budget for four of the six years he was in office.

Responding in an emailed statement, Garcia did not directly address either of Bell's claims.

"Houstonians deserve a fiscally responsible leader who knows how to balance a budget, reform a large bureaucracy and keep our families safe. That's exactly the leadership I've provided and these are the values I will bring to the Mayor's Office," Garcia said. "Rhetoric in the recent weeks demonstrates the clear difference between candidates who have had to vote on a budget versus a leader who has had to balance one."

Like Garcia, Bell is seeking the support of the city's progressive voters, who are known for reliably showing up at the polls.

However, in the eyes of many political observers, Bell now trails many of the top-tier candidates after posting comparatively low midyear fundraising.